House Bugs That Fly

Sooner or later, you are likely to find some kind of flying insect in your home. Various flying insects are attracted by different things. Some pose health hazards and others are just a nuisance. Examples of the more common flying bugs are house flies, fruit flies, mosquitoes and ladybugs. Learn more about these flying bugs to help you decide whether you need to contact an exterminator.

One of the most common and easily identifiable bugs is the common house fly. According to Bugs.com, it's a grey flying insect with four stripes on the back and fuzzy stripes on its head, the latter being silver on top and gold below. You are likely to find house flies buzzing around garbage in and around the home. Because they feed off of garbage and even feces, they can transport pathogens on their bodies and pose a health hazard.

Fruit flies, also sometimes called vinegar flies, are usually found around food. According to Bugs.com, they're small bugs, about 1/8 inch long, with tan fronts, black back and red eyes. These insects are attracted to fermenting foods. Once found, fruit flies can lay as many as 500 eggs on them. Although you would not want to eat the surface of any fruit or vegetable that has been infested by fruit flies, you can safely cut away the surface of the food and use the rest, assuming it is not rotten.

Mosquitoes are another common, easily identifiable insect you may find in your home. According to the American Mosquito Control Association, the mosquito belongs to the True Fly order Diptera, differing from other flies in that its wings have scales. Only the female bites; the male's mouth parts are not suited to piercing skin. Although they do suck blood, their primary food source is sugary foods such as nectar. Nevertheless, because a female mosquito can and will bite humans, it is capable of transmitting a number of diseases, such as yellow fever, encephalitis, West Nile virus and malaria.

The ladybug is a small beetle that is generally red with black dots, although they come in various colors and differing numbers of spots. For example, the beetles can be black with orange spots, or shades of yellow, brown, orange or pink. According to the Ladybug Lady, almost 5000 different kinds of lady bugs are found in the world, 500 of which are in the United States. Ladybugs usually enter your home during the colder winter months, attracted by light-colored, poorly insulated homes with warmer exteriors.